No Images? Click here A Word from Executive Director Dr. Kathy Sheppard-JonesOur latest HDI newsletter finds us amidst a fast disappearing summer, and what a busy one it has been. HDI recently wrapped up our first UK Summer Leadership Experience for students considering college as a next step. Eleven high school juniors and seniors spent a week on the University of Kentucky campus, making new friends and learning new skills along the way. A big thank you to Teresa Belluscio for leading camp, along with lots of help from fellow HDIers Elaine Eisenbaum, Megan Jaspersen, Lindsey Mullis, Stephanie Meredith, Christina Bard, Walt Bower, Kari Jones and Jacki Shouse. We had some great students helping make camp a success, and Independence Place staff also came for presentations and help with sessions. This was an exciting start, and we’ll build on these experiences next year. Hopefully, some of this year’s campers will come back and become leaders to show next year’s students the ropes. We have also launched our 2017 DD Network Needs Assessment Survey and hope you will take a few moments to complete it and share it with your networks. It is an important measure of needs within our state, and helps us to set priorities that match up with what our community members want us to be working on. Make your voice heard. Take the survey today at: 2017 Joint Needs Assessment Survey You can find out more about some of the work that HDI has been up to by putting your feet up, enjoying a tall glass of lemonade, and reading the latest edition of the HDI Newsletter. It’s fine summer reading that will keep you in touch with your University Center on Disability. Lisa Dunkley Named Winner of the 2017 Paul Kevin Burberry AwardLisa recently completed the Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities program at the Human Development Institute (HDI) and is a doctoral student in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky. She currently has a Research Assistantship at HDI and has demonstrated a strong commitment to people with disabilities through an innovative HDI leadership project called Project Teach One Reach All (TORA), with the aim to promote disability awareness and inclusion of students living in residence halls on the UK campus. Summer Leadership Training Camp 2017The Summer Leadership Experience is a wonderful opportunity for high school juniors and seniors with mild to moderate disabilities to get a glimpse of the college experience for a week this summer. This program is for students who want to transition to higher education. The Summer Leadership Experience is a day camp that will begin at 9 am on Monday, July 17th and will run through Friday, July 21st. Bottom Dollars, a Rooted in Rights original documentary, screening on July 27The UK Human Development Institute offered a FREE screening of the film Bottom Dollars, a Rooted in Rights original documentary. This FREE and open to the public event occurred at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky and was presented by the UK-Human Development Institute, the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Kentucky Protection & Advocacy (P&A). This film exposes the exploitation of nearly 250,000 people with disabilities in the U.S. that are legally being paid less than the minimum wage. The documentary calls for the phase-out of the unfair practices of sub-minimum wages and sheltered workshops, and offers solutions for fair wages and inclusive employment.
Updated “Understanding a Down Syndrome Diagnosis” book Available NowThe nationally recommended book for new and expectant parents learning about Down syndrome, Understanding a Down Syndrome Diagnosis, from the Lettercase National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources at the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute, has been recently updated with unprecedented collaboration from leading experts across the nation to improve the diagnosis experience for families. Student Scholarships: Disability Policy SeminarWhittney Darnell and Rongxiu Wu, doctoral students in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) Graduate Certificate program in Developmental Disabilities, recently received HDI Student Scholarships to attend the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, D.C. The Disability Policy Seminar is an annual conference put on in collaboration by multiple national disability organizations including the Association for University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The conference focuses on educating participants about policy issues affecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Remote Staff Spotlight: Stephanie MeredithStephanie Meredith is HDI’s Information Services Director. She has worked at HDI for five years. What brought her to HDI is her and Harold Kleinert’s work on resources about Down syndrome for new and expectant parents. They met in 2007 at a conference about setting the research agenda for Down syndrome at the CDC, and he started reviewing material that Meredith created about Down syndrome. He was also working on the Brighter Tomorrow’s website. In 2012, they decided to come together and put their projects as one National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources at HDI. Stephanie also works on the KentuckyWorks Grant employment project. This focuses on youth with significant intellectual disabilities transitioning from high school to work or post-secondary education. Survey for Parents and CaregiversThe Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities is one of six states selected to receive a Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI) grant from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to build upon the existing system of care infrastructure to improve the integration of services and supports for children ages 3-11 with co-occurring intellectual or other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and severe emotional disabilities (SED). The Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities has partnered with the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute, the Kentucky Partnership for Families and Children, and other state and local organizations to determine the number of children age 3-11 with co-occurring I/DD and SED and identify existing gaps and barriers to services and supports accessible in local communities across the state. To that end, the attached survey is an initial step toward identifying existing gaps and barriers to services and supports by multiple stakeholders in the community. All responses will be kept confidential, and no individually identifiable information will be shared. Please take a few moments to complete this Spanish version: https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5dugNI3BG0yHwON English version: https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_08UFKyofRMeg4T3 After evaluating the survey results the following goals of the grant will be accomplished:
Thank you for your time
|